I'm wrong. Singer/songwriters were not common before them.
Everything else he listed beside singer/songwriters, Michael Jackosn and the popularity of British music came before them and would have been without them.
Cultural impact is a nebulous term, so I'll speak musically. And from a musical standpoint, the current poll results reflect the correct order, even though I don't particularly care for The Beatles.
You can argue that they're not the most influential artist of all time, but it's ignorant to say that everything would be the same without them.
I agree. But MJ has had the same impact on Pop culture. It's fair to say they are about equal. I never said things would be the same, (Did I? ) I'm saying those things would have existed without them. I meant they are not the originators of Rock and Pop or the first songwriting team, etc.
People underestimate ABBA's influence. They practically invented what we know as the pop chorus and hook. Though they haven't sold even close to 300 million records, like everyone thinks. They've had like, one successful album, and it really wasn't all THAT successful, compared to what the other artists here have done.
That was a STRETCH. There were Black artists in the mainsteam before him. But he was the first Black musician on MTV. MTV is a huge part of Pop culture, therefore MJ's being the first one to do that is significant. MJ was also a pioneer in the art of the music video. WHO made videos before him that weren't simply live performances? MJ birthed an entire generation of performers. That is undeniable.
I agree. But MJ has had the same impact on Pop culture. It's fair to say they are about equal. I never said things would be the same, (Did I? ) I'm saying those things would have existed without them. I meant they are not the originators of Rock and Pop or the first songwriting team, etc.
You said:
Quote:
Everything else existed before them and would have without them.
...which is untrue. Again, they refined so many aspects of the music industry, that their impact is almost impossible to truly measure.
And of course MJ had a huge impact on music and pop culture. But when you compare what he impacted to what The Beatles impacted, they come out on top.
They've had like, one successful album, and it really wasn't all THAT successful, compared to what the other artists here have done.